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Civil War in Western North Carolina

Scope:

The Civil War (also known as the War Between the States) between 1861 and 1865 was the most divisive period in U.S. history. The Civil War in the mountains of western North Carolina was especially turbulent during this period due to it being a border area of a border state (East Tennessee being largely pro-Union). There was strong sentiment-both pro-Union and pro-Confederacy. There also existed a large number of guerrilla groups who served their own interests. Little was written specifically about the War in this region until the past decade. This pathfinder attempts to provide a starting point for research of the Civil War in Western North Carolina.

Introductory Text:

Inscoe, John C. & Gordon B. McKinney. The Heart of Confederate Appalachia: Western North Carolina in the Civil War . Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2000. Appalachian Collection: E524.I54.2000 c.2.

Enemies of the Country: New Perspectives on Unionists in the Civil War South . JohnC. Inscoe and Robert C. Kenzer, eds. Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press, 2001. Not yet cataloged by ASU (on order). Contains a number of essays applicable to subject.

Inscoe, John C. Mountain Masters: Slavery and the Sectional Crisis in Western North Carolina . Knoxville: The University of Tennessee Press, 1989. Appalachian Collection: E 445.N8 I57 1989.

Dugger, J.W. "A Diary Kept by J.W. Dugger and William Thomas While in the Confederate Service, and Members of the 58th N.C. Regiment." Previously printed in The Watauga Democrat , May14, 1891 through July 30, 1891. Appalachian Collection: E605.D85 1891a.

Gere, James M. Escape To The Mountains: The Life of a Northern Civil War Soldier, including his personal account of his escape from a Confederate prison . Published by author in Stanford, CA, 1988. Pp. 53-76, 106-115. Appalachian Collection: E 523.5 122nd.G47 1998.